The present invention relates to a lash adjustment assembly which is effective to reduce clearance between teeth of gears in a vehicle steering apparatus.
A known lash adjustment assembly, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,884,091, is used in a vehicle steering apparatus. This known lash adjustment assembly is operable to move a first gear along a first axis to reduce clearance between teeth of the first gear and a second gear. A shaft connected with the first gear rotatably supports a pair of cams. A cam locking device is connected to the cams to permit axial adjustment between the gears only when the steering apparatus is centered.
Another known lash adjustment assembly is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/905,172 filed Aug. 1, 1997 by Wendell L. Gilbert and entitled "Lash Adjustment Assembly". This application discloses a lash adjustment assembly which is operable to adjust clearance between gears in a vehicle steering apparatus when an engine of the vehicle is in a non-operational condition and the steering apparatus of the vehicle is in an on-center or initial condition. The lash adjustment assembly includes a threaded force transmitting member and a spring which causes relative rotation between the threaded force transmitting member and the first gear to move the first gear relative to the second gear to adjust the clearance between the gears. Other known lash adjustment assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,252,348 and 3,600,965.